The Best Director

However, he was not crazy enough to work during the Christmas holiday; he did not want to become Miranda. Compared to last year, when he was a hot favorite for various awards like Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenwriter, etc., this year he was “alone,” meaning he did not need to attend movie premieres, press conferences, or any publicity and canvassing events. He could enjoy his holiday leisurely and peacefully.

Of course, since the release of “The Devil Wears Prada,” before the Christmas holiday, Wang Yang had not been slacking off and kept up with a lot of work every day.

Apart from occasionally providing decision-making suggestions to Flame Films, one of the film and television projects he was personally responsible for, “Prison Break,” would return to air after the winter break on January 12. The production and preparation for the second season, “Prison Break: Sequel,” continued, and the scriptwriting was still being finalized; the preparation for “The Big Bang Theory” also moved forward smoothly. It’s worth mentioning that Johnny Galecki, who played Leonard, Jim Parsons who played Sheldon, Simon Helberg who played Howard, and Kunal Nayyar who played Raj had all completed their auditions in November and December respectively and joined the cast.

The unified payment for the five main actors was $60,000 per episode for the first season, which compared to the $4.8 million per episode for the first broadcast rights, meant Flame Family Entertainment was indeed bringing in wealth. But the $60,000 per episode was already the top price for industry newcomers and new shows, so Flame would not break industry standards by offering $100,000 per episode; Jim Parsons and the others were also very satisfied and excited about this contract.

The 2004 version of “The Big Bang Theory” would add a Californian Institute of Technology Chinese-American genius mathematician colleague named Freddie Lee.

In fact, “Freddie” could be considered one of Wang Yang’s names, since strictly speaking, his middle name was Fly. He did not know what his parents were thinking; denoting flying or flight, Fly seemed cool, and the first and middle names combined to mean “youthful and soaring.” However, Fly also meant fly or insect. Wang Yang did not dislike this moth, but very few people called him that since he was little. His family always called him Yang or Young, and it was only among a few old friends that it became the jokingly affectionate Freddie.

In any case, Freddie Lee joined the world of “The Big Bang Theory.” It was really hard to find a suitable Chinese-American male actor. After auditions and selections by the “Big Bang” team, Wang Yang finally set his sights on Harry Shum Jr., who had played a minor role in “Step Up.”

Harry Shum Jr. was born on April 28, 1982, in Costa Rica. His family moved to San Francisco when he was about 5 or 6, where he grew up. His 184CM stature was tall and strong. He started learning dance at a local dance company during high school, including breaking, robot, popping, locking, and more, showcasing remarkable dance skills. Compared to Wang Yang, who only showed his flair in bars and nightclubs, Harry was a professional.

In 2002’s BET Awards (Black Entertainment Television Awards, a ceremony set up for African-American and minority ethnic artists), Harry Shum Jr. kickstarted his career as the only male dancer in a Comic-View segment. Afterwards, he gained chances to dance for Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, appeared in “Step Up,” and then “The Big Bang Theory.”

Harry was not so “handsome and dashing,” yet he possessed a screen charm that suited the image of a leftover scientist who couldn’t find a girlfriend, as well as the shy and reserved nature of a geek. With a pure accent and good understanding of the script and character, Wang Yang was very confident in handing Freddie Lee over to him.

As for the actress who would play Penny, Wang Yang had inquired about Kaley Cuoco’s schedule and audition possibility with her agent before. Unexpectedly, this inquiry changed many things. Although the character “Bridget Hennessey” was beloved by the audience, bringing ample popularity to Kaley, and she even won the Teen Choice Award, Kaley Cuoco’s agent had long since been dissatisfied with the ratings performance of “The Eight Simple Rules,” believing it to be a waste of her talent and time.

A television movie starring two rising stars, Kaley Cuoco and Megan Fox, titled “Girl Boss,” would be broadcast on ABC in 2004, which would naturally affect their screen futures. But in terms of tangible TV series work, would they continue shooting the third season of “The Eight Simple Rules” for ABC? With the magical Yang’s inquiry, the agent proposed many stringent conditions for the renewal, like securing the lead role in a TV movie.

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Do you think you’re Jennifer Aniston? The viewership for “The Eight Simple Rules” had already severely declined, leaving people disheartened; yet the upcoming end of “Friends” next year seemed to bring a golden age for sitcoms. “The Big Bang Theory” was about to debut, and all of this made the ambitious hearts of the new executives at ABC Entertainment, like Anne Sweeney, beat even bolder. If they dared to create what they claimed would be “the most expensive TV series in history” with “Lost,” why would they fear lacking good sitcoms?

So during this winter break, ABC announced they would not produce a third season of “The Eight Simple Rules” due to its less than satisfactory performance.

Kaley Cuoco suddenly found herself without her main job, which was quite a gamble! Her agent hadn’t expected ABC to switch from timidity to aggression so abruptly, axing the show without hesitation. If they couldn’t secure a new role soon, it would be like shooting themselves in the foot. But if it weren’t for the miraculous inquiry from Wang Yang about the audition, the agent wouldn’t have taken such a ‘hot commodity’ strategy. Naturally, the best outcome now would be for Kaley to join “The Big Bang Theory” as the lead actress.

Now that Kaley Cuoco was a free agent, the role of Penny finally had a contender. Wang Yang was a bit speechless about becoming the “chief culprit,” but Kaley Cuoco’s acting skills were guaranteed. Her method of performance, her charisma, physical appearance, and her chemistry with actors like Jim Parsons were all completely OK, so he confidently gave Kaley Cuoco his trust and invited her to audition for Penny, though he would wait a while to save face for ABC since there was no rush to start filming.

With Wang Yang’s endorsement and promise, Kaley Cuoco’s agent could finally breathe a sigh of relief and then became wildly excited. To be able to star in “The Big Bang Theory”… Who’s to say that 18-year-old Kaley Cuoco couldn’t become the next Jennifer Aniston!

Apart from working on “Prison Break: Sequel” and “The Big Bang Theory,” Wang Yang’s primary focus was still on preparing “Firefly,” choosing actors for key roles, and participating in the direction of art design, props, costumes, special effects, and other departments. These tasks were interspersed throughout the post-production, release, and promotion of “TDWP” and paused with the arrival of the Christmas holidays.

Amidst the cheerful holiday spirit, the New Year’s countdown was getting closer. The last weekend of ’03, the 26th to the 28th, became history with a total box office of $200 million, with “The Lord of the Rings 3” and “TDWP” continuing to dominate the first and second spots at the box office. Other new releases like “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Cold Mountain,” “Paycheck,” and “Peter Pan” hit the theatres in full force, and among them, “Paycheck,” which ranked sixth at the box office with $13.46 million from 2,762 theatres, completely declared John Woo’s “demise.”

This $60 million sci-fi action film turned into a nightmare for co-investors Paramount and DreamWorks, with stars Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman becoming unwittingly labeled as “box office poison” after opening at just $13.46 million. Rotten Tomatoes showed a critical approval of 27% and 13%, but John Woo was not a miraculous Yang or a James Wan. With only a 52% viewer approval rating, the film was criticized for being tedious, bloated, sleep-inducing, noisy, stupid, and a boring chase sequence. Bad, bad, bad…

John Woo, who was 57 years old, had dominated an era in Hong Kong with films like “A Better Tomorrow” and “The Killer,” which are now movie classics. After moving to Hollywood, his collaboration with John Travolta and Christian Slater in “Broken Arrow” and Travolta and Nicolas Cage in “Face/Off” were enormously successful, earning him countless fans. “Mission: Impossible 2” in 2000 became the top-grossing film worldwide, elevating him to the status of a top director in Hollywood. He left his name and handprints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 21, 2002.

Standoffs, gunfights, bloodshed, sunglasses, trench coats, doves in a church… With Chang Cheh as his mentor, John Woo took the blue out of the blue, elevating “King of Gunfights” to an artistic level that drove audiences worldwide crazy and inspired other directors of action films to follow suit.

An entertainment journalist once jokingly told Quentin Tarantino, “John Woo is all about explosions, fire, and gunfights.” Quentin Tarantino responded, “Right, Michelangelo was just good at painting walls too.” In the “Anti-Terrorism Special Forces” film that professed to be all about realism, Samuel L. Jackson once said during a gunfight training, “They only roll around in John Woo’s movies, not real combat!”

All this indirectly underscored John Woo’s status in the industry. However, starting on June 14, 2002, it seemed as if John Woo had been cursed, facing Waterloo after Waterloo, non-stop.

“Mission: Impossible 2” was still the global box office champion of the year, while Wang Yang’s greatest achievement was only fourth place with “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2000 and “District 9” in 2002.

But “Windtalkers” dealt John Woo a devastating blow when he was at the height of his career, becoming MGM’s eternal nightmare. Then in April this year, the film he produced, “Bulletproof Monk,” only grossed $37.71 million worldwide against a $52 million production budget. The financial loss pained producers Lakeshore Entertainment and distributor MGM, especially when the shadow of the war in Iraq loomed over the entire world – who would go watch an action movie?

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Then, “Paycheck” was like “here we go again,” with Paramount and DreamWorks execs beginning to question themselves, “Why did I ever believe in John Woo?”

He had aged! The consecutive mega productions he directed resulted in the most disastrous outcomes, utterly devoid of any spiritual energy, not a speck was left. John Woo could no longer make good movies!

As Mark Miller put it, “No one in Hollywood would hire him again. He’s just old, and what’s more, he’s not lucky anymore.” Confused and lacking spiritual energy or any sort of luck, he was branded with the most dreaded label in the industry, “unlucky.” John Woo conformed to a 100% office building rule, having been a yearly champion, adorned the Walk of Fame… and then it ended. And Wang Yang, in his mind, had seen John Woo’s return to the Chinese film circle with “Red Cliff,” which continued to be mediocre.

Why was that? Had he reached the peak with his gunfight action movies and grown tired of the genre, seeking a transformation? But after a crushing defeat, shouldn’t he look for a suitable opportunity to prove that he hadn’t lost his edge? What could be more fitting for John Woo than cool, thrilling gunfight action movies?

Wang Yang couldn’t understand why this master of violent aesthetics insisted on forcing himself, at this critical juncture, to film unfamiliar genres like science fiction and historical films? Wasn’t the lesson from the war movie “Windtalkers” clear enough? Or was it that no one was offering such film opportunities? Well, he would offer one!

Like many directors, Wang Yang greatly admired and loved John Woo’s style. “A Better Tomorrow” and “Face/Off” were among his favorite action movies. He couldn’t forget the scene of Mark lighting a cigarette with a burning dollar, nor could he forget those dancing pigeons… No matter what, he didn’t believe John Woo was so old that he couldn’t move; he wanted to believe in this luckless old guy just one more time! With a script that was perfect for the “king of gunplay.”

Not the American version of “Infernal Affairs,” as that was not John Woo’s kind of story. “Infernal Affairs” didn’t need cool gunfights; it was the struggle of human nature that was the soul! If they were forced together, it might be a successful marriage, but it would be somewhat wasteful to both parties.

“Hey, John! A bright and elegant study, even on the non-working Christmas holiday—which was not exactly the Chinese New Year—Wang Yang watched helplessly as “Paycheck” inevitably failed, and was spurred into action, excitedly and eagerly calling John Woo. His early knowledge allowed him to be prepared. This movie was one of Flame Group’s key plans for 2005, and even if John Woo didn’t direct, someone else would be in the director’s chair.

“You’re inviting me to direct a new movie?” John Woo, who was in Los Angeles at the moment, was very surprised. He and Wang Yang had recognized each other for some time, with a superficial friendship. When Ang Lee got the opportunity to direct “Brokeback Mountain” and was being regarded like a rat crossing the street, he joked that if “Paycheck” failed again, the miraculously younger Wang Yang might approach him for a movie job. The self-deprecation turned into reality!

He suddenly didn’t know what to say, astonished that someone could witness “Paycheck” being crushed by a crane and still approach him with a smile to make a movie. This was truly…

“Director John Woo has released a milestone of the latest thriller, ‘Paycheck,’ which might be the stupidest movie of 2003. Stupid story, stupid details, and the acting was quite weak! Another surprising thing is the disordered confrontation between good and bad guys, with chaotic shot sequences. It was dull, and not even a hint of John Woo’s former remarkable accomplishments could be found. Too bad! It has only generated a pile of painful mockery.” — Film critic C.A. Woszki, BOX Website.

“Yes! How about it?” Wang Yang leaned back in his chair, looking at the movie review on the computer screen, shrugged his shoulders, and spoke seriously, “John, what’s the issue? I know ‘Paycheck’ is in a bit of a sticky situation right now, and we Chinese directors have been hit by the critics four times in a row recently.” He chuckled lightly, then continued, “But you know I don’t agree that you’re washed up, you’ve just made the wrong choice. I don’t care about ‘Windtalkers,’ I don’t care about ‘Paycheck.’ I don’t believe you’re old, so I want to invite you to direct a purely action-packed gunfight movie.”

A purely action-packed gunfight movie? John Woo’s heart skipped a beat, and he took a quick breath, “Oh!” After achieving global success with “Mission: Impossible 2,” he lost his passion for action movies, telling himself, “You can’t spend your whole life playing with guns. You need to make more substantial films, like art house and musical films.” After “Windtalkers,” he knew his desire: “I want to prove I’m not old yet!”

At last, he secured “Paycheck,” a mix of science fiction, mystery, thriller, and action elements. He thought he had what it took, but he failed again! Now, he was truly desperate for another chance, a chance to redeem himself!

But his agent had warned him multiple times, “John, don’t screw it up, because if you do, you’re out.” He wasn’t new to filmmaking or to Hollywood; he knew the stakes. He had grown somewhat despondent after years of toiling away like an ant. Had he truly aged?

Now, as for Wang Yang… I don’t believe you’re old, not with an action-packed gunfighting movie! John Woo got so excited that he was at a loss for words for a few seconds, listening to Wang Yang say “How about it?” on the other end before replying with a surprised chuckle, “Oh, I’m very interested, what kind of movie is it?”

“Well, our idea is to adapt a comic.” Wang Yang tapped on the keyboard a few times, his brow furrowing. Was John Woo excited or hesitant? If he lacked directing passion, then his spiritual energy would greatly diminish, and no matter how suitable the equipment, he couldn’t shoot well. Passion is the life of a director.

While looking at the screen, Wang Yang continued, “This is Top Cow Productions’ new comic released this December, drawn by Mark Miller—’Wanted’ (‘Assassin’s Creed’). It’s basically about the protagonist Wesley Gibson, a loser who is bullied by almost everyone in his life. Then one day, a hot female assassin named Fox comes along and tells him that his dad was an assassin and is now dead, and Wesley has to become the new assassin…”

Firefly Films had already discussed the film adaptation intent with Top Cow Productions and Mark Miller. Although no contract had been signed, the talks were very amiable, and Mark Miller was pleasantly surprised. Wang Yang knew he had to secure “Wanted,” and even if someone else drove the price to eight figures, he had only one response: “Match.” However, the newly released “Wanted” had hardly caught anyone’s attention yet.

After giving John Woo a rough idea of “Wanted’s” story and worldview, Wang Yang chuckled and said into the phone, “John, I’m not sure what you think, but I believe that right now you should return to gunfight action movies. Don’t you want to tell people you haven’t aged, don’t you want to surpass yourself? I still remember a line from ‘A Better Tomorrow’ very clearly.”

He paused, then in imperfect Cantonese and gradually raising his voice, he recited, “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for three years. I need to regain my breath, not to prove I’m mightier than others, but to show that I must reclaim what I’ve lost!”

John Woo’s breathing quickened again.

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PS: After “Paycheck,” Paramount had planned to remake the 1970 gunfight action crime film “Le Cercle Rouge” with John Woo directing. However, this project, which was slated for release in 2006 under the title “Magnificent Desolation,” was aborted. Later, John Woo returned to the Chinese-language film industry to produce “Red Cliff.” (